Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir the onion and garlic in the hot oil until fragrant. Quickly stir the ginger and fish sauce into the onion and garlic mixture before adding the chicken; cook together for 5 minutes. Pour the chicken broth over the mixture and cook another 5 minutes. Add the chayote to the mixture and simmer until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bok choy and spinach; cook until the spinach is just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Most Helpful Positive Review

Apr 21, 2012

I made this for a filipina friend of mine & she commented that it tasted good but the spinach was not something she grew up using. It was too strong a taste. Try pepper/sili leaves. She also makes this with/without the squash. It's not crucial if you just want soup now. What makes this dish distinct is the ginger , onion, & fish sauce(patis). I buy it in the asian market. Without this trifecta, you DO NOT have Tinola. Soy is not a substitution at all. Soy is a plant based product. Patis is animal based and although both are salty, soy is not multilayered in taste like patis. Maybe this is why some of you find it lacking depth when you use soy as a substitution. It's like saying a veggie burger tastes like dry aged prime rib steak. The secret of this broth is Patis. There are no substitutions unfortunately. I've had this made for me, where you dump it all into a pot to stew for a couple of hours & it tastes great. I don't even brown it. You can even substitute beef(don't brown it) for chicken, so my filipina friend tells me. I've had it & it tastes great. Btw I don't use chicken broth. I use water & season to taste(with more patis if necessary, never with more salt which is one dimensional) when the meat's done. You are essentially making a stock from scratch. It keeps the broth rich, the meat tender but the soup delicate. It's supposed to be delicate tasting but NOT bland. On a historical note, patis is the closest modern substitution for the ancient roman ingredient "garum".

This is a great recipe. I use three chayote squashes and usually a box + a can of chicken broth (or sometimes I use 3 cans instead). I haven't used spinach before but baby bok choy or regular bok choy both make this delicious. I use a bit extra on the ginger and 1 large onion to make sure it's fragrant. No need for salt if you're using regular chicken broth. Easy, quick and wholesome! I love cooking from whole foods.

We liked this, but felt it was missing a little something. Perhaps some sort of extra seasoning as it was a little bland. The only changes we made were to use peanut oil, minced ginger from a jar (1.5 teaspoons), zucchini instead of chayote as we could not find any and soy instead of fish sauce. We forgot to brown the chicken and just tossed everything together was the onion/garlic/ginger were done sauteing. I think browning the chicken is crucial in adding additional flavour to this soup-type dish. We served it with rice, and liked it very much. Easy, and will make again!

Tinolang Manok is an awesome meal for a nice cold fall/winter day. I've made this numerous times and its delicious everytime, though using a different recipe (slight differences). I have never heard of it being made it with Bok Choy though, might just have to try that! I always use unripe papaya in my Tinola.

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.